Sean D. Boeger: Police want fair contract, not accolades

Published
12:00 am EST, Sunday, January 24, 2016

This is written in response to the various public comments Stamford Mayor David Martin has made with regard to the men and women of the Stamford Police Department over the last two years. These comments have ranged from high accolades and praise for the performance of various duties, as well as detractions in the press about our current contract negotiation process that he finds displeasure with. For him, this is business, for your police officers, it is the livelihood of their families.

With the passage of the New Year, officers of the Stamford Police Department find themselves quickly completing their fifth year of working without a contract. For many citizens, this may come as a surprise, as your men and women in blue have steadily continued their mission to serve and protect, without so much as missing a beat. As we mark the halfway point of Mayor David Martin’s first term, your police officers’ efforts continue to allow him to boast about Stamford being one of the safest cities in the country. We have patiently waited, and have tirelessly attempted to compromise with the mayor. As the president of the Stamford Police Association I can tell you this, your police officers are frustrated and weary, and deserve to have a fair and equitable shake from the mayor that is long overdue.

If you think our lack of a contract is only limited to your police officers, guess again. This is an administration that has been unable to not only bridge the gap with us, but also your firefighters, nurses, and city supervisors. And in short order, you will be able to add the city’s attorneys, sanitation workers and a host of other clerical type workers. For those of you wondering how the city’s teachers were able to reach an agreement, it was due to state law, and the fact that the mayor is uninvolved in that process by charter. There truly seems to be a lack in the ability to compromise and delegate by Mayor Martin, and it is an issue that affects us all.

The woes of Stamford’s municipal employees are not the only concern due to the city’s current lack of progress. On the business front in the South End, we still have no boatyard, and a developer who is attempting to rejuvenate the area but finds itself embroiled with the personal squabbles between the mayor and the various boards and commissions of the city. The mayor is attempting to replace commission members who do not agree with him. Members who are there to look after the public interest. This is no way to conduct business. It is another illustration of a pattern in which we see a lack of compromise, and an inability to reach consensus to get a deal done. Is the mayor’s primary concern the needs of the citizenry, or securing the money that lucrative permits would bring by manipulating the city’s approval process?

In this economic climate, the Stamford Police Association has had to take a hard look at what is fair to our families, while respecting the fiscal impact to the taxpayer. We have, and are willing to make responsible decisions with Mayor Martin, but not devastating ones. What has compounded city employees’ frustrations is the unending moving target the mayor has presented throughout negotiations. How does one ever hope to come to an agreement, when there are constant changes based off of last-minute whims? This fickle behavior is not just limited to contract negotiations; it permeates through the entire Martin administration. This is why, in The City That Works, everything has seemingly come to a grinding halt.

If you care about the functionality of your city, please speak to your elected official on the Board of Representatives. Talk to the business leadership in Stamford. The developers. Your school officials. The local Realtors. Ask them if the mayor’s tact is getting the job done for you. Even though this city has grown tremendously over the past several decades, Stamford still very much has its small-town roots intact. Many of our city employees are our wives, husbands, sisters, brothers and long-time neighbors. The Stamford Police Association would like nothing more than to be supportive of sincere efforts by Mayor Martin to reach a fair and equitable deal on behalf of the taxpayers and police. But his personal take on how to deal with people and total lack of compromise make this a futile task. We are part of your family, and we all deserve better than the turmoil and gridlock Mayor Martin continues to exhibit.

Just in the last two months, your police officers have taken about a dozen illegal guns off the streets of Stamford from criminals. Each one of these encounters makes the city safer, but at the risk of placing our lives in danger. This past Thursday night, we saw this first-hand, as one of our officers was forced to defend himself by firing on a suspect wielding a facsimile firearm.

Thankfully, this incident did not end in tragedy, and the suspect, as have many others, was captured and removed from the streets of Stamford. We do this because we swore an oath to protect the law-abiding citizens of this city, and will continue to do so, despite not having a contract for five years.

Mayor Martin, on behalf of the men and women of the Stamford Police Association, we do not want your accolades. We do not want your praise. We want a fair and equitable contract for placing our lives on the line for the city and the citizens we serve.